Plaiting attachment for sewing-machines



zsheens- -sheen 1.

L'LLYON.

Plaiting Attachment for Sewing Machines.

No. 229,155. Patented June 2% WITNESSES: I I INVENTOR:

ATTORNEYS.

N. PElERs, Puoflxumoavupuea, WASHINGTON. D. C

. 2"Sheets -She et L. LYON.

Plaiting Attachment for Sewing Machine's. No. 229,155. Y I PatentedJune 22,1880.

II lllll llllll INVBNTOR JEIERS, ENOTD LITMDGRAFHER, WASNXNGTON. n C

NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LEOPOLD LYON, 0F HAZLETON, PENNSYLVANIA.

PLAITING ATTACHMENT FOR SEWING-MACHINES.

SPEGIFIOATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 229,155, dated June 22, 1880.

Application filed August 28, 1879.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LEOPOLD LYON, of Bazleton, in the county of Luzerne and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and Improved Ilaiting Attachment for sewingMachines, of which the following is a specification.

Figure 1 is a plan view, showingone method of attaching the device to the Domestic sewing-machine. Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is aplan view, showing another method of attaching the device to the Domes tic sewing-machine. Fig. 4 is front elevation of the same. Fig. 5 is aplan of a piece of fabric plaited by the device, and Fig. 6 is an edge view of the same. 4

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

The object of this invention is to provide a novel device that may be attached to sewingmachines forplaitin g the fabrics to be sewed in plaits or folds of any desired width or any desired distance apart.

There are a number of equivalent devices for attaching the plaiter to a sewing-machine and for transmitting motion to it, and several convenient and simple ones are herein shown and described.

In the drawings, Figs. 1 and 2, there are shown a plate, A, secured to the end face of the standard of a Domestic sewing-machine and projecting horizontally rearward, and the plate B, secured to the inner face of the head of the machine and projecting both in front and rear. The rear extensions of these plates afford bearings for the drivingshaft 0 and driven shaft D of the device, and on one end of the former is secured a grooved pulley or sheave, E, held by collar and set-screw or otherwise, that is connected by a belt with a driving-pulley on the machine, while on the other end of the same shaft is a pinion, F, that meshes into the cog-wheel G, which is keyed or otherwise fastened on the shaft D. Through the face of this cog-wheel several holes, a a, are made, at varying distancesfrom its periphery, in either of which may be secured the pin b of the rod H. The cog-wheel and rod thus form, it may be seen, an eccentric attachment to the stirrup I, to the short side of which the lower end of the rod is movably secured by a pin, f.

Both the rod and the side of the stirrup to which the rod is attached are provided with holes g and h, respectively, for the adjustment of their connecting-points, so that the operator may at will give to the plaiter a longer or shorter sweep or range of motion and raise or lower it.

The long arm of the stirrup is held on a pin, between the plate B and the plate K, whose inner end is riveted or'otherwise made fast to plate 13; and by means of the said pin it, that passes through one of the adjusting-holes l in the plate 13 and the slot m in the plate K, the position of the plaiter can be further adjusted to suit the work it has to do.

The plaiter L itself is a thin plate'of steel or other metal, slotted at one end and toothed or forked at the other, and the points of the teeth are preferably serrated, that they may more surely hold and carry the fabric that is to be plaited. This plaiter is held to the under side of the horizontal bar of the stirrup by a screw, n, that passes through said bar and the slot 0 of the plaiter.

When the sewing-machine is in operation power transmitted by belt to the grooved pulley E gives motion tothe movable parts of the device, and the plaiter-teeth, being retracted, are made to engage in the material to be sewed-along one edge of it at first, if it be of considerable widthand advancing to carry and lap a fold of it forward under the needle. Retracting and advancing by turn, the plaiter carries fold after fold of the material, each succeeding one under the preceding one and under the needle with precision and regularity. The shield M, held to the cloth-plate by the screw 19 serves to protect the cloth-plate from the scratching of the plaiter, and also to elevate the material to be plaited, so that the plaiter may more readily engage in it.

In Figs. 3 and 4 another but essentially like device is shown for attaching the plaiter to a Domestic sewing-machine. In this a slotted vertical plate, A, is fitted over the lug that holds the bobbin-winder, the winder being ICC) short driving-shaft G, on one end of which is a grooved pulley, D, and on the other a pinion, E, that engages in the cog-wheel F, that is keyed on that end of the driven shaft G which is supported between the parallel side bars. On the farther end of the driven shaft, which is journaled in the horizontal plate H, which is in all respects like the plate 13, is a disk, I, and to it is secured the rod K by a pin, a, the plate and rod forming the eccentric connection with the stirrup L and plaiter M, that are like those previously described.

It will be seen that the parts of the device shown in Figs. 3 and 4 are in all respects essentially the same or equivalent to those shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

In Figs. 5 and 6 samples of work are shown. The plaiter pushes one part of the fabric under that preceding it, thus making the fold or plait that is afterward sewed down by the needles.

Should the operator desire to make plaits of unequal width, like some of those shown in Figs. 5 and 6, the clutch N on the outside of the band-wheel O, that holds the pulley fast to the shaft of the driving-machine, must be so far unscrewed that the pulley will cease to move with the shaft for a moment, and consequently the plaiters motion will be checked until the fabric operated upon has been drawn farther along by the continued motion of the sewingmachine mechanism, and when the next plait is to be made the clutch is screwed in and the plaiter mechanism thrown into gear again. In this manner the operator can perfectly control the movements of the plaiter and make it produce plaits of any desired width and distance apart.

Machines to which this plaiter is attached maybe provided with a driving-pulley, P, for the sewing mechanism, fixed either on the shaft of the machine or made part of the band wheel, as respectively shown in dotted lines in Figs. 1 and 3; or a pulley located on the shaft like P, (shown in Fig. 3,) and provided with a clutch for throwing it in or out of gear, may be used for driving the plaiter mechanism.

Having thus fully described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- Thewithin-described sewing-machine plaiter,

consisting of plates A and B, shafts O and D,

sheave E, pinion 'F, cog-wheel G, rod H, stirrup I, plate K, and plaiter L, or their equivalent devices, constructed and arranged sub stantially as herein shown and'deseribed.

LEOPOLD LYON. 

